The Highs and Lows of the Weekend

Let's play a fun game called Weekend Highs and Lows.


Weekend Highs

• The Hot Air Balloon Festival. Long story short, Husband's Grandma was staying the week with his cousin while her parents were in Hawaii. But as a 15 year old she wanted to go to the high school football game. We decided to take her and C to the Hot Air Balloon festival. It was kind of a whim. After a later start than planned and a traffic jam to get there, we did finally make it. It was toddler heaven. He watched them all "in the sky" and he even got to touch a basket of a balloon on the ground. Plus, it was free with a non-perishable for the food bank! We went out to eat the four of us afterwards and we were all amazed at how well C did the whole evening. 

• Major purging of the garage. Our garage was gross you guys. It had become a dumping grounds of sorts. But we took nap time and now it is a work of art. Organized. Clean. The bulky waste is ready for pick up tomorrow. My nesting heart is happy. 

• New throw pillows. Let's just say my throw pillows from grad school are limp, lumpy and gross. They needed to retire YEARS ago. So now we have new ones!

Weekend Lows

• C was so excited about the Hot Air Balloon Festival that he was up from 2:30-4:30 AM on Saturday. He wasn't crabby at all, just totally ready to greet the day at 2:30. He did wind up sleeping until almost 9:00 so it balanced out, but let's call it a low anyway. 

• Indian Summer. I know we've been incredibly lucky but it has been pretty hot these last few days for September and I'd much prefer the fall like weather we were having. (I know that even the low 80s isn't that big of a deal so I blame Baby Girl for keeping my core temp up.) 

I hope you all had terrific weekends!

7 Quick Takes of Baby Pool

Hello World. If you missed it yesterday, Baby Girl flipped back around to head down so we are officially back in the waiting game and not the scheduled birthday game.

Which means Baby Pool time!!

This baby is crackin' me up

1. Here's the skinny: I am "due" October 12. Which if you are like me and in denial about how far into September we are, still seems really far away but in reality translates to 16 days away. Which also basically means Baby Girl could show up whenever she darn well wants. Be that now or later.

2. C was born at 40 weeks 6 days. He was 9 pounds 6 ounces and 21 inches long. This is the only time in his entire life he ever measured "big." It took him 3.5 weeks to get back to birth weight and has never been anywhere but the 50th percentile in height and weight since.

3. Everything about this pregnancy has been different except for the fact that I am pregnant of course.

4. At 36 weeks 3 days the ultrasound guessed she was about 6 pounds. But there is a pound of error either way and she clearly has room to switch around from head down, to breech, back to head down.

5. In a world of Murphy's Law:

• Husband has a very important work event on October 13 and 14. He would of course miss it if necessary but... yeah. 
• Our doula is going to Greece for 2 weeks and leaves on October 15. She has her backup doula ready as well. We are her only October birth and it's mostly because we are good friends or she wouldn't have committed otherwise. (Because of her trip.) 
• My dad is going to my cousin's wedding reception in South Carolina October 16-18. 

If you're noticing a trend... we're hoping for early this time around. :) 

6. I am not above an inducement if necessary. But the earliest my doctors (I see a group) would allow that is 41 weeks 1 day. (October 20)

7. Leave your guesses in the comments. I will go with dates first and size as a tie breaker if needed. I am going to have a prize! I don't know what it will be yet, but it will be wonderful, not in anyway related to baby stuff and well, then you can say you won a prize. 

So there you have it. Guess away! 

Sweet Moments

Do you know all it takes is some orange juice to have an incredibly happy, incredibly sweet 2-year old boy? Well that and good sleep habits. I am of course jinxing this but nap/bed time has gone incredibly smoothly lately. And we're all happier when we've had plenty of sleep.

Sweet C Moment of the Week: At bedtime prayers he asked to pray for "Baby Sis-Sis." It is probably a stalling tactic but it's sweet and cute and we help him pray for her.

Sweet Baby Girl Moment of the Week: She flipped back last night. It hurt. It was confirmed this morning at my appointment and thus I do not have a birthday scheduled for her. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts. It was weird, I was almost disappointed leaving today without a birthday but I trust that God knows what's going on better than I. So we are back in the waiting game. It's weird. It could be any minute. But as much as a month away.

And that's what I know.

Venice

Today is the dreary sort of normal day that can get you down. It's cloudy. Not cold, not hot... pretty nice weather wise but cloudy. There are dishes to be done. I know I write about this occasionally but I sure do hate doing dishes. I can't think of a chore I hate more. Cleaning the bathroom? Nothing compared to dishes for me. I just don't like it.

In pregnancy world I am officially at the "exhausted but can't sleep long enough to fix it" and "everything gives me heartburn" stage. Everything. Spicy. Bland. Small quantities or not. Bananas. Water. Oatmeal. Cottage Cheese. Milk. Bread. Meat. Veggies. My body is an equal-opportunity employer when it comes to food to give me heartburn.

But the truth of the matter is I shouldn't really complain. Those are inconveniences at the most. Dishes mean that we had a delicious meal as a family. And the pregnancy symptoms are just the finish line coming into sight. Anyway you stretch it I just don't have that much longer to go.

But my day sure got brighter. One of my best friends from grad school (even though she was in undergrad at the time) gifted me the Venice soundtrack.

Venice is this amazing musical that changed my life. I'm not even kidding you. When I graduated in 2010 I was burnt out. Between Art's High (where we really did a lot more Theater History and Dramatic Lit than I realized at the time) straight through grad school with little time off, it was non-stop theater. And theater people. And it was draining.

But like, 2 weeks before graduation I went with 2 of my friends to see Venice. And my spirit was lifted and I believed that the world was still capable of interesting and innovative work. I needed it. And then the day after graduation when Husband (who was Fiance at the time) was in town, we went to see it again. Because I had to see it again. And I wanted him to experience it too.

Then it went through more workshopping and all kinds of changes. But it made it to Off-Broadway which means they made a soundtrack. And it was released yesterday. And in true fashion of luck, I couldn't get iTunes to download to Husband's computer. (There's no iTunes for Chromebook. I am okay with this because we have another computer, but he just got a new one as well and it didn't have iTunes set up yet.) But... my friend Robin sent me a text this morning asking if she could gift it to me.

That is providence my friends. And I did get iTunes downloaded so now I have some amazing tunes to listen to and let my heart soar while I clean those pesky dishes.

"I wanna love and be loved."

A Pretty Much Nothing Post

My morning started with me forgetting to switch from slippers to shoes. Luckily, my slippers are basically flip flops with fuzzy on them so hopefully it wasn't nearly as ridiculous as it seemed to me.

We went to the museum and played for an hour. Then music class. He really likes the music class and I really like having an activity with him. Though I for sure played the really pregnant card to not have to gallop or run in a circle today.

Then grocery shopping. I may have bribed my child out of the museum by promising blueberries. They were all out of fresh blueberries. So he got frozen. Luckily he's 2 and loves blueberries however he can get them because I was going to feel like a mean mean mommy if I couldn't deliver.

Then lunch. Shockingly, we had blueberries. I know, you are terribly surprised.

In the mail we got a box of daffodil bulbs from my parents.

And now it's rest time on the most gorgeous kind of day. Our weatherman actually tweeted "7-Day Forecast: Sun, Sun, About 4 Clouds, Sun, Sun, Sun. I'm going to be pretty bored by next week!" A side note is our weather man is leaving. I am a weather geek and I kind of really, really love him. If you live in the Denver area you're going to love him soon.

Windows are open. Breeze is streaming in. It's a pretty snazzy Monday over here. Coming off a great weekend I am pumped up for where this week is heading! Oh and The Good Wife was excellent last night. Big Bang has been moved to Mondays so I have that to look forward to this evening PLUS it won't conflict with Grey's on Thursdays. 

And Fall starts tonight at 9:29 pm. Get excited everyone! Have a great Monday. 

Quick Quick Takes

7 Quickest Quick Takes of Random.

1. Baby Update

Thank you for everyone who has said even a little prayer or sent good juju into the universe for me and Baby Girl. I totally meant what I wrote on Wednesday and I am truly okay with the idea of a C-Section if need be. I think this girl is going to keep me on my toes because last night we had a "are you moving in there?" party at 1:00 AM, then she started moving so much that it hurt. So she could very well flip herself back and forth many times.

2. Edel

Funny enough Charleston has always been somewhere I'd like to visit. I suggest it to a lot of people as a place for them to vacation because it has everything; art, beaches, history from 2 wars and it's warm. My bestie, Kathryn took a solo journey there in March per my suggestion. And MY biggest chance to date, my cousin's wedding reception, is scheduled for the week of the due date. Obviously I am not going to Charleston next month.

My grandmother just relocated to the area so I am sure at some point I will be heading out that way, but I'm thinking that Edel 2015 is still off the table this year. Chicago Edel 2016!! (Or Minneapolis!! Or Omaha! Or Indianapolis!) Midwest Large City Edel 2016!

3. Testing Me

C has been in his big boy bed for 2 months now and he does a pretty good job. Rest time is our big challenge. Currently my rule is stay on the bed. Yesterday, he was trying to listen and not all at the same time and got himself stuck in a half handstand off the bed, his legs were still on the bed certainly. But he was calling out "Stuck! Stuck!!" Because he was. I rescued him and he did actually go to sleep after that.

4. Scotland

It was pretty cool to watch Scotland decide to not leave the UK yesterday. I didn't really have an opinion on what should happen but it was an interesting bit of democracy to watch from afar.

5. We Are Going Out Tomorrow! 

We have a babysitter and we're going to a Cards Against Humanity Party. An adult party! I am pretty excited! We just have to figure out what we're bringing.

6. Disney World Fan 

So, C is already a fan of Disney World. He loves to watch the ride point of view videos on YouTube. The Enchanted Tiki Room, It's a Small World and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh are the current winners. I am sure that when we take our trip in 2017 he will be very excited. Probably for different attractions by then though.

7. Fall Shows Start Sunday! 

So if you need me Sunday night... well don't count on finding me between 8-9 because The Good Wife will be back!!

I am concerned about Thursday. Grey's is moved to 7:00 and C is still awake PLUS The Big Bang Theory is on at the same time. We don't have a DVR or anything so I may just be a week behind and watch it online or whatever. Maybe we'll get Hulu? Probably not worth it.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

It Is What It Is

2 posts in one day. Probably something is going on. It is. I had my 36 week appointment this morning.

And you know how Mother's intuition is strong? Like, crazy strong? I KNEW going in today, I knew that it wouldn't be the news I wanted to hear today.

And sure enough, Baby Girl is breech breech breech. I knew she flipped. It happened 2 days ago. All of a sudden my lower back didn't hurt anymore. Otherwise we're all healthy and great. Just breech. Which, seriously in the grand scheme of pregnancy is not that big of a deal.

I cried anyway. But no one really got why I was crying. I think they thought I was upset by the possibility of a C-Section. (Obviously, I would prefer to not have a C-Section but I am not really concerned about it.)

Get your shallow glasses on now people. I was upset that I was spending $77 (Our out-of-pocket for ultrasounds) for me to not learn anything or see my little girl's face. Because I KNEW going in she was breech, I didn't need an ultrasound to tell me that. I had a pretty good idea how big she was. (I was within ounces of their guess) So pretty much a big ol' waste of $77 in my opinion.

I was given 3 options:

• Scheduling a C-Section today
• Scheduling a version to try and get her to flip
• Waiting until next week to see if she flips by herself and if not scheduling the C-Section. 

I took the 3rd option. I am not giving up hope, but I realistically understand I may end up with a C-Section anyway. I am not discouraged by this, I fully believe that everything happens for a reason. And my biggest stressor has honestly been who would watch C when I go into labor. (I have people but they have lives and schedules and it's one of those things where it would be who do I call when.) 

I am going to keep doing inversions and praying. If you feel so inclined to pray for her to flip back that'd be great, but if there is a good reason for her to be breech then I certainly will not be disappointed in the inevitable C-Section. 

So that's the news from here. It is what it is. 

WWRW: The Summerhouse

Well what do you know? I actually read a book this week. And by read a book this week I mean read a book in 24 hours. I honestly don't know when I last picked up a book I just read straight through like this.

So last Tuesday we had book club and the new book was announced and I went the Amazon on my phone and bought it while all my ladies were still in my living room. Thanks to the loveliness that is the 2-day shipping, it came on Thursday. Thursday evening was a wash. I cleaned up, spent time with my guys and had my massage. But after the massage I felt so good that I thought to myself "Self, maybe you should read a while." So I did. In bed and snuggly. Relaxed as all get out. And I liked it. I read a pretty good chunk until I fell asleep.

Friday brought a fairly typical day and I had no time for reading until rest. And then I didn't even sleep, I just read the book until there was no more book to read.

Pretty good stuff actually. It was just brainless enough to be a fast, easy read and just thought provoking enough to touch my heart a little. Pretty much an ideal fiction book and perfect for the last book club before this baby comes. Not that I haven't enjoyed some of our deeper thinking/debating books but a quick fiction read is right up my alley currently.

If you can't tell by the post title, the book was The Summerhouse by Jude Devereaux. (No relation to the fictional Blanche.)

The basic premise is that 3 ladies the weekend of their fortieth birthday meet together at a summerhouse in Maine. These women met by happenstance when they turned 21 and are getting together to see how life turned out. While on their weekend away they are given the chance to go back to any place in their life for a redo--then they have to decide if they want the life they have or the one they could have had. 

It's not as weird as it sounds because as I typed this up I realize that it sounds like a really bad Lifetime Movie. (I did a quick search and it doesn't look like it is one. If it ever was a movie though, Sandra Bullock would be in it.) 

I found the book pulled into perspective life and all it's challenges. Sometimes a re-do wouldn't solve all of life's problems and sometimes perspective can in itself be life changing. If you are looking for a book that will give you an introspective overview without being heavy-handed as well as a non-smutty quick fictional read, this is one I would recommend. It's not going to forever be on my favorite book list but it was a successful couple hours of thoughtful escapism. 

In other book news there has been the Facebook post/blog post about the top ten books that touched your life. You're supposed to just do it spur of the moment like, but this is not my moment. So stay tuned for that post. (Let's say Saturday maybe?) 

I am linking up with Jessica and her Wednesday book party. Have you read anything interesting lately? I am looking for the shallow end of books here. Theology is swell but my brain is foggy and I need some good, not ridiculous fiction to read right now.

Surge

Surge is back. For real. 

I have a few fond memories of Surge in my life. I wasn't allowed to have it very often, because hello, I was a kid. But it definitely made it's appearance at more than a few junior high parties. 

Verdict is still out on whether I go ahead and buy some. Oooh never mind it's already sold out. Okay then. 

Well. 

Clearly it is popular and will probably come back for realsies. 

Oh to be young again. Oh who am I kidding? I still listen to Hanson and The Spice Girls. I still watch movies from 1994. (Which is the mother of all family movie years, seriously so many good kid movies that year.) I don't need to be young again, life is pretty good as an adult. 

But hey, I can be an adult and drink a Surge. (If they make more and I can get some that is.) 

A Lovely Fall Weekend

And we're back to regular scheduled programming instead of the Gilmore diatribe. I know you're all thankful I made those weekend posts.

My weekend consisted of two really good days but they could not have been more different.

Saturday, bright and early, Husband took C to his family's orchard and to visit. For reasons known as Baby Girl we are not going on a family trip during actual apple season. They open next week but since next week is the 37 week mark I was not overly excited about Husband being 3 hours away. So... I woke up to see them off and in my sleepy haze I was actually really emotional about my little buddy spending the whole day without me.

I don't know why. We are very capable of being separated and I was pretty excited by the day to myself because that so rarely happens but I was sad. Let's blame hormones.

Anyway they were off and I went back to sleep. After a nice long sleep in, I met Kathryn for lunch and an outing. We went to a Mongolian Grill, which is one of my most favorite kinds of food and strangely enough, the only kind of food I can never get Husband on board with. But Kathryn had a buy one get one coupon and Husband didn't need to be considered. WIN!

We had a long lunch, the kind where you chat and lollygag watching other tables of diners come and go. Strangely, a lot of the people were in running clothes. Especially interesting was the lady in purple under armor and neon yellow shirt who was deeply concerned that we stand in order, but was then upset she wasn't standing by her husband. People are funny.

We then went to the teacher supply store where I mercifully talked myself out of buying anything because, I have a 2 year old and we don't need formal schooling items or calendars for circle time and whatever. That was productive, we stopped in for this one specific folder for a substitute teacher and then wound up finding other things that she needed. Because that's how stores go. $37 later (an expensive folder...) we were on our way to find a top for her cousin's wedding next weekend.

My mom doesn't like shopping. She says it gives her a rash. Slowly, over the course of my life, I have developed this phobia, it doesn't happen every time but Saturday, apparently lots of people decided to be out shopping and within a few minutes of entering the JCPenney I wanted to be done. The rash was spreading.

I found Husband some pants right off the bat. He needed work pants badly and, I know this will surprise you, but they were having a sale. (At JCPenney. There's always a "sale") We then circled the store several times, not finding a top at all. She tried on a few dresses. And the rash was getting itchy. After we determined there was nothing fun to be had we headed out and I went home.

At home I watched some Netflix, took a nap and did a quick tidy of the house. I was admonished for cleaning but it really was for me because don't you just feel better in a clean house? And truth be told, I spent 40 minutes total and managed to get the house to almost company standards in that time. (I did not do the dishes.)

Then my boys were back and I was very happy to carry my sleepy guy up to his room and tuck him into bed with a kiss. Oh be still my heart I just love that kid. During my mostly lazy day to myself my guys had a great time:

Sunday was mostly a family day. It was great. We watched movies: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Swiss Family Robinson and Little Rascals. We read books. We played. At rest time we all rested. It was a magical magical day. I was able to accomplish the few things on my to do list for the day: I prepped the car seat and went through the boy baby clothes to pull some of the plain white onesies, swaddlers and other usable items. I even washed and dried them so... we're getting pretty close to ready for baby.

As we head into another work week complete with Husband on a business trip, a toddler class, the first of my once a week appointments and hopefully some lovely weather I am rested and rejuvenated and ready. What a great weekend. Happy Monday!

My Diatribe About Gilmore Pt. 2

If you missed yesterday's post Gilmore Girls is going to be on Netflix soon. Some people around the web are making overview lists of episodes not to miss. I don't think you should miss any, but I am pretty partial. I was going to try and do this in 18 episodes just like their list, but it’s kind of a short end of the stick kind of deal. There are seven seasons to get through and that just doesn’t play fair with the number 18. I mean an entire season is 22 episodes long and these people don’t think Gilmore Girls deserves at least a seasons worth of episodes?

Heck, I am not even asking for a seasons worth, but I am playing fair and giving you 3 episodes per season that if you watch in order will still give you a pretty good overall taste for the show and it’s major plot points. 21 episodes isn’t really too much to ask right? Here we go. (I also included a runner up in case you feel like you could maybe watch 28 episodes.)

Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot” I actually agree here with their list. If you bear in mind that all pilots are just foreshadowing of what’s to come on a show, this one still holds up pretty well. Obviously the episode is slightly off-kilter from the normal Gilmore experience but it’s a pretty darn good introduction.

Season 1, Episode 13: “Concert Interuptus” We would be remiss to skip over the bond of Rory and Paris, and this is a pretty good example of of that relationship’s start. In this episode we also start to see the Lorelai/Luke relationship and their feelings towards one another. Plus, The Bangles.

Season 1, Episode 19: “Emily in Wonderland” The relationship between Emily and Richard and the girls is incredibly important to the overall arc of the show. This episode has Emily visiting Stars Hallow and digging up the past and old emotions.

Runner Up: Season 1, Episode 22: “Love, Daisies and Troubadours” I generally think the season finales are pretty great and this one is no exception. However you can glean all the information of what happens here from the next bunch of episodes. Still totally worth a watch but not enough to bump it up into the top 3 of the season.

Season 2, Episode 3: “Red Light on the Wedding Night” Picking up Season 2 from Lorelai’s Bachelorette party, this episode covers the Max portion of the show as well as some more Emily/Lorelai relationship woes. This also introduces you (if these are the only ones you’re watching) to Christopher and all that he brings.

Season 2, Episode 10: “The Bracebridge Dinner” This episode has everything: Dean, Jess, Luke, Emily, Richard, Paris and all the townies. Pretty much an excellent representation of the Stars Hollow world and all that Gilmore has to offer.

Season 2, Episode 22: “I Can’t Get Started” Yeah, I know the season finale thing is kind of a cop out but this one really is good and pivotal for both of our Gilmore Girls. (And Sookie and Jackson of course.)

*Runner Up: Season 2, Episode 13 “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” This is my favorite episode of the season but that alone isn’t enough to stick in the 3 most important episodes of the season. But this does offer some great town humor, Dean and Jess, Lorelai and Luke, excellent Kirk. All in all a winner.

*Season 3, Episode 13: “Dear Emily and Richard” We’re jumping way forward into Season 3 because you can. This episode is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. Right as GiGi is making her world debut we flashback to Rory’s entire birth story.

Season 3, Episode 17: “A Tale of Poes and Fire” Where the HuffPost’s list shows you where Rory gets into school, my list shows you Rory figuring out where she wants to GO to school. Plus some major life changes for Lorelai as the Independence Inn takes on a special fire. Plus, great town action.

Season 3, Episode 22: “Those Are Strings, Pinocchio” I know. I know. Season Finales. But this one is one of the only tearjerker episodes and is incredibly moving. Plus, you know Rory manages to graduate and move on from Jess. Lorelai and Sookie buy the Dragonfly and a bonus highlight: Brad’s Graduation Song. Hilariousity ensues moments before the tears fall.

Runner Up: Season 3, Episode 7 “Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving” This episode is making a lot of the lists floating around out there. It doesn't move the plot of the show forward much but it sure is funny.

Please Note: Season 4 is Gilmore perfection. To have me choose just 3 (sort’ve 4 episodes) is incredibly hard and I am pretty darn sure that if you wanted to skim the other seasons and dive in for Season 4 you would not regret that decision. But I digress.

Season 4. Episode 2: “The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale” This episode is also making the rounds on the lists because, well, it’s pretty great. Major life moments, good Luke/Lorelai banter. Funny, funny fast talk.

Season 4, Episode 9: “Ted Koppel’s Big Night Out” We meet Jason. It’s THE GAME. And the Emily/Richard drama begins.

*Season 4, Episode 22: “Raincoats and Recipes” This is the episode. My most favorite, the most pivotal and all in all the very best episode of all. It has everything. We lose Jason, we gain Luke. We make major life changes and the Dragonfly opens.

Runner Up: Season 4, Episode 21: “Last Week Fights, This Week Tights” Liz and TJ have been vastly under-represented in my little episode guide. Their wedding is a wonderful glimps into the crazy. Add some town fun, Yale finals week fun and this is an all time favorite. Episode 21 and 22 are on their own disc in the DVD set and there is a reason it is referred to as “The Disc” Great episodes all around.

Season 5, Episode 3: “Written in the Stars” Luke and Lorelai finally get together. If you are one to squee and get excited about long time coming relationships, well this is the episode for you.

Season 5, Episode 13: “Wedding Bell Blues” It is the 100th episode of the show. Emily and Richard are renewing their vows. Christopher wiggles in between Luke and Lorelai. Rory has a frank talk with Logan.

Season 5, Episode 21: “Blame Booze and Melville” What happened in half a season? Rory goes off the deep end, or off on a yacht. Same thing really. Plus some good Stars Hallow stuff and Gilmore family drama. Oh and a new baby. Who doesn't love a new baby?!

Runner Up: Season 5, Episode 15: “Jews and Chinese Food” Luke and Lorelai reconcile over the elementary school’s production of Fiddler on the Roof, Rory likes Logan and Marty likes Rory.

Season 6, Episode 5: “We’ve Got Magic to Do” Ed Herman's finest acting moment on the show, Paris loses her money and marbles, DAR darlings and A Miss Patty Recital? This episode is a winner in all respects.

Season 6, Episode 8: “Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ring Out” I have never been a Jess girl, but for the first time ever he is not screwing up Rory’s life he is helping it. Paul Anka is acting strange and Lorelai knows things are a brewing.

Season 6, Episode 22: “Partings” I was trying to stay away from the season finale this time around but as the Palladinos last episode it needs to be watched and respected. Plus it really is pretty good foreshadowing of what’s to come and recap of the season all in one.

Runner Up: Season 6, Episode 14: “You’ve Been Gilmored” Major Yale Daily News drama and Luke gets to have some fun with Emily. Very funny episode all around. Rory and Logan take a big step in their relationship.

Season 7, it should be noted is not that great. The Palladinos really brought Gilmore it’s charm and the show struggles. But if we have to narrow it down to the best episodes I can do that.

Season 7, Episode 9: “Knit People Knit!” This jumps into the Christopher and Lorelai married in Stars Hallow bit. We meet Rory’s new friends and Marty returns.

Season 7, Episode 16: “Will You Be My Lorelai Gilmore?” Lane’s baby shower is full of drama. Lorelai helps patch things up. Logan’s career has taken a major hit and Rory can’t really help out. The beginning of the end really.

Season 7, Episode 22: “Bon Voyage” Rory is off on the campaign trail with her new job and has to say goodbye. A tearful episode that still magically ends the way it should. It’s hard to say goodbye after seven years. Emily and Richard are the

Runner Up: Season 7, Episode 20: “Lorelai? Lorelai?” Lorelai sings karaoke. Logan asks a pretty important question. Luke finds out April isn't coming with him in the summer.

My list is a fairly comprehensive overview of the show. All major relationships are at least touched upon: Max, Jason, Luke, Christopher. Dean, Jess, Marty and Logan. Plenty of Chilton, Stars Hallow, Yale and both Inns. Emily and Richard. The one aspect that is glossed over is April, Luke’s daughter. Why on Earth they brought her in, I’ll never know. But they did. But since she can’t act and is frankly, annoying she is basically skipped over on this list.

If you really want a skim through and pretend I’ve seen it list, mine is the one to use. I still think you should watch the whole shabang but whatever. I’m a fan.

If you are looking for my FAVORITE episodes of each season... well. (*If bolded, they are on my overview guide as well.)

1. Season 1, Episode 22: “Love, Daisies and Troubadours”
2. Season 2, Episode 13 “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”
3. Season 3, Episode 13: “Dear Emily and Richard”
4. Season 4, Episode 22: “Raincoats and Recipes”
5. Season 5, Episode 4: "Tippecanoe and Taylor Too"
6. Season 6, Episode 16: "I Get a Sidekick Out of You"
7. Season 7, Episode 13: "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia"

And thus ends my Gilmore diatribe. Though I can talk Gilmore all day so... if you need more lemme know kay?

My Diatribe About Gilmore Girls Part 1

Just a fair warning. If you have never seen Gilmore Girls you are probably not going to care one tiny bit about this post. If you are curious about the show at all I would come back tomorrow for my list of 18 can't miss episodes.

Oh dear. Gilmore Girls is going to be on Netflix starting October 1. This is fine by me. Now I don't have to pack the DVDs for the hospital during labor as long as I have a computer.

But now all of sudden Gilmore is going to be super popular again. I partly enjoy seeing everyone on social media getting all excited about the show again. But really, I have all 7 seasons on DVD already, and we actually have Season 4 twice because the most important disc of all started skipping and that was no good. So on some level all this resurgence of fandom is odd because I could always watch all the Gilmore I wanted, whenever I wanted.

And BTW Netflix, you could really make me happy by bringing on Bunheads too. Let's just make it the Amy Sherman-Palladino day and release all of her everything.

Then there are articles like this.

And really. Good grief. Have they seen Gilmore? Do they understand Gilmore at all? The answer is no. Clearly. Because as Ms. Weingus can only commit to watching 18 of the 154 episodes and then is seriously wrong on which 18 episodes.

First and foremost: there are THREE episodes on the list from Season 7. Just no. Most of us would like to forget that Season 7 happened. So featuring more episodes of Season 7 than Season 4 is just wrong.

Second major issue: Ms. Weingus and her obsession with Jess. Jess was important I grant you. But featuring him over all of the others is pushing it for the real extent of their relationship. And "The Real Paul Anka" is a good episode. But Jess is better portrayed, and a bigger catalyst for change in Rory's life in "Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out." If it wasn't for Jess and his success Rory may have continued down her crazy Yale-less path. Visiting Jess (and kissing him which is I am sure what the Jess-shippers are really getting at) is not all that important. We can all agree, that love or hate Jess, he pretty much does nothing for Rory in Season 3 except make out with her and disappoint her. Where he succeeds as a character is helping her get back on track in Season 6. 

Now, bringing into focus Ms. Weingus' premise that Jess is the be-all-end-all it becomes very clear what is going on with the fact that Season 2 has three episodes on the list and Season 3 has four. Combined with Season 1 and it's 4 episodes on the list and that's 11 episodes that are apparently "Incredibly Important" between sophomore and senior year of high school. In a show that goes from 10th grade to college graduation I think it is safe to say that in fact this list is skewed.

Would you like to know how I would change this list to actually give a fair and decent overview of Gilmore Girls? Well tune in tomorrow when I share the actual most important shows of Gilmore. 

7 QT: Randoms as Always

1. Prenatal Massage

So my doula is a massage doula and with her services you get a prenatal and postnatal massage. Then a discount on other massages if you'd like.

I had my prenatal massage last night. There was something very comforting about a massage table set up in my living room, with the smell of fresh clean laundry (my favorite smell) wafting up from the basement. And my very own Spa Pandora station playing.

Plus then, the massage. I feel like I could run a marathon. All of my lower back pain is gone. The only part of me that is tender today is my neck and shoulders and I honestly had no idea how tense they were until we got going.

I know I have only like (OH MY GOSH TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 12!! THE DUE/GUESS DATE IS OCTOBER 12!) 30 days left but I am so scheduling a discounted version because I feel amazing.

2. Sleeping Pillows

This may also have to do with the fact that I have come up with a new solution to supporting my entire body while I sleep. And oh, it was mighty fine indeed last night.

3. Fall Weather

Is finally and miraculously here. Dear Lord in Heaven have I needed some cooler weather. Amazing. Truth be told I do wish it would be sunny and crisp but I'll take what I can get!!

4. Toddler Imagination

It's kind of crazy how one day they're black and white and the next day it's just imagination city. Yesterday he was playing with a lacing string and decided it was a kite. After a long time of playing with just the string he wanted to add an actual kite to the string, so we fashioned a sort of kite together and that has proved to be endlessly fun.

I really enjoy the new discoveries of parenting.

5. Planning Ahead

So with this little tike coming sooner than later in the grand scheme of things I have been getting ready for the holidays. Yes. Really. Halloween is dealt with. C's costume has already arrived and I am nearly ready to pull the trigger on Little Girl's. We do still have to buy the candy but that shouldn't be too difficult.

And I made a secret Amazon wish list with Christmas things so I can buy those a little at a time. We have already declared this the year of easy. We are doing the "Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read." gifting this year for us. I can figure out 12 presents no problem. Just trying to stay ahead before I feel overwhelmed.

6. A Day to Myself

Tomorrow I have the day to myself. And I have big plans. I am going to sleep in. Go out to lunch and perhaps see a movie with a friend. Then lollygag the rest of the day home by myself watching sappy movies in my pajamas. I am pretty excited about this.

7. The Kindergarten Teacher in Florida

Have you heard of this teacher? She decided to not throw away 6 whole weeks of instruction time for her 5 year olds. Husband and I had a discussion about the whole testing thing and how ridiculously out of hand it's getting. We have a few more years to figure out schooling and we are leaning towards our Parish school. But even though I don't actually feel called to homeschool if the testing thing gets crazy here I just might anyway.

WWRW and Five Favorites Mashup

It's a Mash Up Week. Because I can.

My 5 Favorite Things About Today, Wednesday September 10.

1. C picked up a green bean at lunch that had split open at the top. It looked like an uppercase "Y." He looked at it, showed it to me and said "Y" then told me the sound the Y makes. He proceeded to throw the green bean on the floor in a show of true toddlerhood.

2. I am currently basking in the post hosting/pre-disaster area glow. You know what I mean right? There's just not really anything to clean. Okay the lunch dishes could be done but I am looking past that. And fine, I have a load of laundry in the washer. But besides that, I don't have to dust, sweep, mop or clean a toilet because they're all freshly clean. That is a marvelous place to be.

3. In our pre-preschool curriculum here at Murray's House of Learnin'

Our School Crest

We took sort of a back seat for the summer and did a lot of free play and self-guided study. But now that we're back in the swing of things for the *ahem* school year we are making sure to be a little more focused. For Literacy we have been, shockingly enough, working on the alphabet. The two popular alphabet books over in this neck of the woods are: 

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks from A to Z. This is a tiny little book that is shaped like Lowly's Apple Car. It covers all the letters and all the fun vehicles of Scarry's world. We like this not only because cars and trucks are the best ever but because there's letters and 100 other things to point to and identify. 

LMNO peas by Keith Baker. It's simple. There are peas doing things with each letter. C likes it. We read it a lot. I have no idea if it is helping his little mind grow but since it is letters it can't really hurt right? We like to alternate between this and "Boom Boom Tree" as our requested letter book of the day. But Chicka Chicka Boom Boom can only be read so many times before you want to cry a little so it's on hiatus. 

4. In other areas of study at Murray's House of Learnin' we played with dried spaghetti noodles for science/art time. We broke them into little pieces and said "noodles" and "Oh gosh" a lot. It was very educational. 

5. Mid-Day Bathtime. Lunch wasn't even a messy one but sometimes you just need to do a bath in the middle of the day to switch it up a bit. So we did. It was a success until we wanted to take our Frog Loofa with us for nap. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. And kinda funny the tears over a wet loofa. 

And that's all folks. My 5 favorite things about today and what we've been reading. Linking up with the places that do the linking. Jessica and Mary today.

Cleaning and Blogging

So I am swept into the paradox of productivity meets futility.

I am hosting book club this evening and I am trying to walk the fine line between the toddler tornado and trying to get the house clean.

And I am also battling the nesting urges. I initially had a short list of things to do... it has exponentially grown. I find myself unwilling to lower my standards even though these women would not care one bit nor would they probably notice if say, the window wells have all been cleaned out.

In somewhat related in my head news but probably not a logical leap for most; I am getting a little bit panicky about the state of the world of blogs. Most of the blogs that I read have slowly started not posting with any frequency. Or are on hiatus. At first I thought it was because the school year was winding down. Then perhaps summertime was really busy. More recently I decided it was because the start of the school year is stressful. Then Grace mentioned how people are blogging less and now that I know it's not just in my head I worry that maybe the blog really is dead.

And since the blog is my outlet, both the reading others and writing my own I will be quite sad if the blog is dead. I for one, would not be sad to see the book of face go. Yet all the blogs have a subsequent account. And to post a short little 2 sentence update or photo seems to be the way things are going. Which is the secondary fight between productivity and futility. The book of face is definitely faster than writing out a blog, but we lose the deeper connection of true thoughts.

I for one, do not follow blogs on the book of face. I do not need a reason to spend more time on that soul sucker. I find myself becoming increasingly more negative and unhappy when I spend time there. I do not have it on my phone. I unfollow even people I really like when their posts make me feel spiteful, angry or annoyed. I really try to limit my time there. I do not "like" companies. I do not "like" much of anything. I need to delete it all together but I haven't been able to. What I am saying is that the face book is not a substitute for the blog!

So this is me, begging you to come back to your blog home and leave the face book alone. I want to hear your thoughts on world events and what your family is up to. I want to see your pictures and hear the funny things your kids say. I love hearing about what you're reading and why Handwriting Without Tears is so great. Please don't stop blogging. Please come back from hiatus. Please invite us into your lives more than once a week!

Making Walrus Cupcakes

Just in case, anyone else in the world has a toddler/child/cousin/neighbor who is interested in walrus cupcakes I am here to guide you through my process.

The Cupcakes
We used the doctored cake mix cupcake recipe from Hello Cupcake!

• Box of Cake Mix
• amount of oil called for on box
• 4 eggs (replacing the eggs called for on box)
• 1 Cup Buttermilk (replacing the water called for on box) 

Fill paper liners 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. 

These make a denser cupcake that holds up to decorating. 

We used plain old store bought frosting because it's cheap, easy and sticky enough to hold all the stuff on. 

The Walrus Faces

You'll Need:

• White Melting Chocolate
• Nutterbutter Cookies
• Mini Oreo Cookies
• M & Ms 

For the tusks, melt the melting chocolate and put into a small ziploc with a corner cut. Pipe onto wax paper. You can freehand the tusks or put a stencil under the wax paper to follow. I would make more than you need and remember, 2 tusks per cupcake. Let harden. 

Prep your nutterbutters by gently opening them and using a knife to remove peanut butter filling. 

Prep your Mini Oreos by gently opening trying to keep the creme on one cookie only. This will take many tries until you are satisfied with how the cookies look. This is not a problem, you may eat all the discarded pieces as a matter of not wasting anything. (2 creme-on-cookies per cupcake.) 

Sort your M&Ms. If you buy a big big bag you can choose any eye color you want. We opted for blue and green eyes. Also you will need a brown M&M for the nose. But we just bought a small bag so that made our choice for us. 

To build the walrus face: 

1. Place you eye M&Ms on the Mini Oreo pressing it into the creme a little to bond it. 
2. We placed the eyes on the cupcake first, because it let us space out the cupcake best, but you go ahead and do it in whatever order you want. 
3. We then placed the nutterbutter snout. 
4. Stick the M&M nose in, we opted to prop ours up half in the frosting, half onto the snout but again, if you have an idea of how the nose should look, go for it! 
5. We placed the tusks on making sure to stick them slightly under the nutterbutter. 
6. The cupcakes are done and you may eat them. 

The one thing I can say about these cupcakes is that all the ingredients are tasty. Sometimes with the fanciest fancy cupcake decorations flavors don't go well together or something is less than tasty, but that is not really the case here. Happy Eating! 

An Appeal to Common Sense

Dear Adult Airline Passengers,

Don't pretend you're living in a bubble. You've heard about the THREE flights that have been diverted because someone reclined their seat. Three flights because adults cannot seem to act like adults.

First of all, especially on a domestic flight, it just isn't going to take you that long to get there. One or both of you can easily, easily handle being slightly uncomfortable. Because you're adults.

Next let's talk about the word compassion. I know that someone reclining back on you sucks. The last flights I've been on were budget flights, there wasn't leg room to start with. My point is I've been there. But you know what I'd really do if faced with that situation? I would ask myself if it was worth it. I wouldn't know if they were pregnant, or had a back ache or a reason for reclining. Even if they're just being selfish and want to try sleeping slightly more comfortably I can stand to be compassionate.

If you have an actual, physical reason that someone reclining onto you would cause undue suffering for the few hours of flight try something like this: "Excuse me fellow passenger, you are most certainly entitled to recline your seat backwards. However I very recently had knee surgery and it would be best for my recovery if I could move my knee regularly which is harder to do when you recline."

This is polite because it isn't not specifically asking them to give up their reclining, rather just appealing to their sense of good nature by explaining your specific reason for discomfort.

Now conversely, I don't recline my seat either. Because I am also trying to be considerate to the people behind me. I can handle a little discomfort in order to just get to my destination on time! Diverting a flight puts a major cramp in my style and prevents every other single person on the plane from getting to where they're going as fast as possible. Airplanes are not buses. They are not supposed to make extra stops whenever someone gets a whim to demand to get off.

So here's what we're going to say: don't recline unless you have to, and if someone reclines onto you, just pray for them and yourself. The end.

7 QT: Bags, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Fall Things and a Book

1. Utter Disbelief and Joy

I got a package in the mail yesterday. A package that made me loudly proclaim "No way." A package that ensued the whisper screaming happy dance.

Which was then mocked by C. The little scamp apparently thought my happy dance with whisper scream was hilarious. In all honesty, it probably is. I don't know. Sometimes when you're strangely, ridiculously happy you just want to do the happy dance and you don't care what it looks like.

I was not anticipating something quite so wonderful. My mom had told me one last present was coming this week. And again, sign of my new found grown up self, I didn't really dwell on it. I didn't dream about what it could be. I didn't stalk the mailman or UPS. I just went along with life.

Maybe you come here often. Maybe you don't at all. But once upon a time in February I fell in love with a diaper bag.  Since then I have entered every single contest, giveaway to win a Lily Jade. Any Lily Jade. Beggars cannot be choosers and all that. But again, let's reiterate that my name is Madeline and red is already my color. So in June-ish they had a whole new line roll out. And they came out with a budget friendlier version of Madeline in Red. It is canvas. 

And now it is mine. Like it is sitting right next to me. I am dying a little bit. And I am thoroughly excited to leave my house and try it out. Says the person who hasn't summoned the energy for leaving the house all week. 

2. Tomatoes

I had one goal this year. Grow a tomato. Yes, one, singular tomato. I aim low. Because I kill plants, trees and flowers. But I also love the taste of fresh from the vine tomatoes. Just so darn tasty.

And look what we have here:

All told I got 4 tomatoes. (There may be two more ripening but I'm not counting chickens.) Best BLT of my life. But it was a lot of panic/effort/ for a sandwich and the farmers market tomatoes taste pretty darn good so maybe there won't be a repeat performance in subsequent years. 

3. Fall Weather

We're supposedly getting a cool down today. I am rejoicing in that. I am officially at the stage of pregnancy where I am just hot all the time. 

4. Fall Sports: Football 

I am just such a big football fan. (Not really.) I have decided however that at some point I would like to go to a game, but only if it's at a stadium that isn't open air in freezing cold weather. I don't have near enough interest in football for that. This is a long term goal though, maybe I'll try out the new Viking Stadium when it's not really new anymore. 

Last nights game was my very favorite kind. There was a safety. (I love it when football players make a safety!) AND (Marie just close your eyes for a minute okay?) the Packers lost. 

5. Mr. Potato Head

We got one of these for C for his birthday at the end of May. I don't know what it is about Mr. Potato Head but in the simplistic fun it has been one of the best toys ever. Not only has it been good for the fine motor skills (putting the pieces in) but also good for body part naming, pretend play and working on clean up skills. And he's like $8. Phenomenal. 

6. Sanditon 

 

I have book club on Tuesday. It's even at my house. (Helping out a pal without a lot of room in her apartment for hosting.) I cannot get into this book. I know we are all supposed to love Jane. And I have read her major works so no worries. But I am not the biggest Jane fan. And this is sloppy unfinished Jane that "Another Lady" finished. (I haven't even gotten to her part yet.) This may be the first time in 4 years I will be at book club without having read the book. 

7. Fall Fruit: Apple Season 

Is nearly here. I am excited. I think my boys are going up next weekend to pick and bring me back a boatload of tasty! I am partial to early season apples, Honeycrisp and Cortland. The perk of a family orchard is not one I take for granted. 

Happy Friday! Linking up with Miss I have a radio show now at Conversion Diary.